Photos to be scrapped ...

Feasting ... ordering more than we can stomach, a case of an over ambitions palate!


Cheeseeee!! Attempting to mask the monstrosity of building in the background ...

Took some photos over the recent weekend. Photos would definitely be scrapped ... a project in the pipeline ...

I've realised my style of scrapping is to work simultaneously on various different projects. Some times creation of cards in between creation of scrap pages, or creating an album with intermitten scrappages in between or scrapping while waiting for cake to be baked ...

At the rate events are unfolding, I find myself wishing I could complete projects faster. Churn out instantenous scrappages (much like how, if i wanted to, bake a half a dozen cakes in a day ...)

However, the creative process of scrapbooking and card making sometimes requires time for ideas to stew for abit before realising an actual piece. And since there's usually no deadline in scrapbooking (as oppose to card making ...), I tend to take my own sweet time ... my bad, really. Perhaps, I should enrol myself in one of those scrapbook challenges. That way i'd be motivated to work faster!

Clutter no more ..

With all that tidying up over the weekend and throwing out of scrapbits that I can realistically no longer use, I found myself not only with a tidier looking worktop but more storage space ... that was quickly filled with 'Latest Pickings' after carefully planned trip to the hair dressers. :P

Am happy to report am no longer faced the clutter of messy s bits of paper stuffed clumsily into a plastic box, or untidy dangly bits of paper hanging out. Scrapbits are now organized according to colour, with those odds and ends binned to make left over bits look a little neater and easy to file away.

If you're wondering whether that's the after or before photo. Its the messy before! All that messy bits are NO MORE - at least for the time being ... ;) Thing about scrapping is that unless one's a stickler to constant tidying and organizing, nothing is ever going to look like retail shop organized (not a paper out of place!) whever a project is:-
a) ongoing - all the tools and papers lying about
b) finally completed ... more tools and papers and many many scrapbits lying about!

That's where the trusty vacuum cleaner comes in handy ...

Latest pickings ...

Pictures of my newest acquisitions from last visit to gift shop. Got meself a chalk palette (must learn how to use that with the stamps that i presently have), some nifty iron-ons to embellish me plain t-shirts, and one of those DIY felt stuff thought i'd attempt over the weekend and a few papers I thought I could use for my four legged muse ...

But, instead this weekend i found myself happily browsing through the various antique shops along the city's Main Bazaar with a couple of old friends who flew in from HK for the wedding that I was still undecided about attending until their arrival ...

It was all in all a rather fun non-scrap weekend. :)

Yesterday ...

I planned getting my much needed haircut in such a way that instead of going to my usual hairdressers, I used the excuse of the petrol prices hike to stop by at a hairdressers along the usual route home.

Penny wise, pound foolish - so the saying goes. I saved on petrol but it so happen that the ONLY scrapbook-like/gift shop was conveniently located right above the hairdressing saloon (you can imagine my having to contain my excitment while getting haircut and wash ...!)

So then, was the entire charade of having to have a haircut-closer-to-home-to-save-on-petrol a deliberate ruse to give self another reason to make a quick trip to scrapbook shop?

Yes. Am guilty as charge. With no regrets, of course!

You should have seen my precious finds - its not exactly entirely acquiring of scrapbook supplies but its going to fill my time creatively for a while! I'd say its worth any ruse or scheme just to mosey down those delightful shops :P

Ready, Set, Chew ...

My latest 12x12 'Doggy Tales' page ... Its one of my 'Hybrid page' - to be added into the DIY album of mine.

Supplies include: -

a) Errr ... sorry, the brand of 12 12 paper eludes me
b) A4 corrugated and printed paper 0
c) E-cuts - downloaded from scrapbooks.com. Printed, cut out and glued on to page
d) Fonts - from Queen & Co
e) Rub on stickers, DIY stickers - downloaded from clipart, printed, cut and pasted, paper string
f) Fancy brads - paws and bones

A spot of 'tidy' ...

Was tidying up my very messy stash of ribbons, paper strings and ric-racs that was once stashed in desk drawer which then migrated into various plastic bags (so sad ...)because was running out of space ... :P

Its one of those D-I-Y system where you tie ribbons/ric-racs around a rectangular piece of fairly thick paper. I use my left over chipboard that's been collecting dust since i cut it out to make 'hardcovers' for one of my experimentary 12 x 12 D-I-Y album.

It's all rather rudimentary. None of that sophisticated ribbon organizing wares that i see in those scrapbook magazines that have kept me happily engrossed when not scrapping.

There are still ribbons (some tangled, some left overs) in bags to organize - so back to work it is!

Two weddings ...

Making these couple of cards took up almost all of my Sunday afternoon. Admittedly there wasn't much planning involved, just alot of experimenting with ideas that have been simmering for a while now.

Somehow the second card (with flowers and butterfly) almost always turns out better than the first ... The first design was an experimentation of circles made out of cricut circle cutter. Its sa little bare at the bottom but that can always be remedied in the event the names of bride and groom are to be printed below (?)

What i liked most out of these cards, is the colour combination. Always liked the combination of lavender and ivory. The pattern papers are actually wedding present papers i spotted at one of the gift shops in town. Whilst, cardstock is of the A4 pastel lumiscent of the garden variety sort that can be found in most stationary stores - which i thought beautifully complemented the hues of present paper.

And that pretty purple sparkly butterfly, was one of the gems discovered in one of the sewing/florist shops we have in Kuching. Should check those shops out. They do carry quite a fair bit of relatively inexpensive 'embellishments' that one could use in scrapbooking!

Oh, and the flower and tag, I made myself from all those scraps laying about. Quite pleased with how those turned out too ...! :)

The dreaded bit ....

...of scrapbooking is ...

CLEANING UP! :p

Its not so bad if you could just vacuum up or sweep away the remnant bits and scraps of paper laying about and be done with it. Its the having to decide whether or not to throw the bits of scrap - its the "Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't bin that ... You never know when that could come in handy ..."

Honestly, just contemplating that question with each and every bit of scrap you see makes you want to stash the bits leaving the entire mess - more or less untouched!

So on some days I just have to grit my teeth and bin the bits of paper that I've somehow convinced self that I could still wring some 'use' out of them ...else I'd be faced with the unsightly chaos and inconveniences of 'papers sty'!

So how does one file those little bits away? By colour? By paper type? By 'potential use'? My present system (or lack of) is to dump every little bit is a spare plastic transparent lidded container. And when i run out of space,I'd bin the first one in (you know, the first in, first out system) or fold the bits into even smaller bits just to make space for more bits o' scrap! Not exactly the most organized, I know ...

Still on the broad subject of organizing. I've noted that specialized scrap paper and organizers that you find in the scrapbook shops don't come cheap. Come to think of it, the tool container i was eyeing last night (yes, yes, another spot of online shopping) - the sort that has many tiered compartments that turns was going for more than USD30 (?!?) That's equivalent to a nice stash of delectable designer scrapbook papers - of at least two dozen pieces or so!

I've so far managed with very practical and economical alternatives - clean empty shoe boxes for stickers, wicker laundry basket for stashing those present papers I've been collecting and those square relatively inexpensive clear lidded plastic containers of various sizes for paper and tools - all stacked on top of each other in one corner of my room.

Its not exactly the most convenient of arrangements - having to unstack the lot and rummage for the desired bits of paper whenever I want to scrap but I've managed - admittedly, in a rather haphazard way ...

Father's Day Cards ...

Supplies made out of:-

a) blue manila card cut to size
b) 90gsm yellow paper to line inside of card
c) scraps of present paper cut out into ties
d) blue paper string
e) mini-wooden pegs
f) epoxy mini & rubbed on fonts
g) flower brads

Put together and you have ... Father's Day Cards!

Order in Chaos

... or creativity in scraps.
That seemingly disarray of tools, scrap bits and bobs eventually turn out to be ..


This!

My parchment wedding card. Figured since envelopes almost always get junked as thrash, one might as well make cards to eliminate waste. My bid to be environmentally friendly ... not sure if such efforts count ... :P

Dog Gone Cute ...

... of my various 'four legged' muse.

This be the latest scrap page of 12x12. What usually do is make page smaller, either 8x8 or 6x6 just so that delectable paper supplies can be stretched - mind you its not that am stingy, which ironically enough can be said to be the flipside of a hoarder!!

Its more of not being able to traipsy down to local scrapbook craft haven (usually a short drive aay ... no drive is too far for any scrapbook enthusiast) to stock. Although we do have one little gift shop that bears some remote semblance to the speciality scrapbook shops, they, carry better range of embellishments than papers.

Its not exactly to 'die-for' but it will do.

Luke is TWO

That's the other card made over the long 'Gawai' weekend. Luke - me Godson has just turned two on the 1st of June. Obviously, my birthday greeting would be a belated one - as card needs to make its way to the UK (judging from how erratic the local postal service is, I'd be more than thrilled he get card before the year's out!)


Added a photo of Luke and meself just so that he remembers which 'Aunty' is sending the card (along with the gifts) that would be delivered (thanks to online shopping!)

Over the harvest festival ...

Its the annual Harvest Festival, known as Gawai Dayak, in my part of the world where us rice staplers celebrate (or rather give thanks) for the bountiful Harvest. When the festival falls depends really on the weather and other geological factors (which i haven't much a clue of) but what the local government did was to gazette 1st and 2nd of June as Public holidays (woo hoo!)

And as usual, all festivals are about eating and drinking too much unless one finds an absorbing hobby (no sleeping is not counted) as an alternatives.

I found myself making a simple congratulatory card for wedding invite received recently. Am still debating whether to attend or not ... have developed a certain phobia for big rather public like gatherings. Besides, I don't think anyone would miss me if i decide to go AWOL ...
Alternatively, I could go and attend the event only very briefly just to show 'face', deliver my gift and congratulations and split before things get cosy (like big wedding are ever cosy ...:P)

So what will the toss be? We'll have to wait till June 23rd to find out.

Scalloped edges

That's my current fancy. Scalloped edged paper. I had the pieces of scallopped edged made into a sort of template so next time i see nice pieces of pieces of present paper I think would do quite nicely with scallopped edge, I have the 'template' all ready to be cut out.

Woo hoo!

Admittedly the edges aren't quite as crisp and sharp as the original scalloped manufactured sheets but it will happily do :)

Like i've mentioned before, its all about conjuring up creative alternatives. I've also since discovered for someone who's idea of sewing hems was to stick double sided tape to hold up ends, that my inability to sew and to be creative in any art and handicraft classes (throughout my schooling years) does not mean the end of individual expression and creativity. :)